Those tens of thousands of Canadians gathered on Parliament Hill and various compass points around the National Capital Region to celebrate Canada's 147th birthday on July 1, might not have been too thrilled in mid-afternoon and again in the evening hours when thunderstorms wreaked their sodden heaps on ongoing festivities, but we, viewing them from the dry comfort of our house interior, enjoyed the sight of the rain flushing down from the thunderheads that had gathered above.

Earlier in the day the sky resounded with the roar of jets deployed in celebration of Canada Day. As we sauntered in our hour-and-a-half jaunt through the ravine, it was difficult to determine just what we were hearing whether at some times it was really the roar of the jets or sound emanating from the slightly more distant rumble of thunder steadily approaching. But we did know that somewhere, not so distant, it was raining, and thus relieving the oppressive heat and humidity. And we were fervently hoping that throughout the course of the day we wouldn't be missed.

And we weren't. As soon as we heard the unmistakable patter of the first rain on the patio doors in mid-afternoon, we hustled over to watch as the first tentative drops speedily transformed to larger, assertive splashes soon entirely obliterating clear sightlines from the glass doors to the outside.

Later in the day when we had roused ourselves out of the heat-stupor we had succumbed to, to get the barbecue going for dinner, down it came again. And again we were protected from the torrential downfall by the canopy shielding the deck.

I find it irresistible during these powerful thunderstorm activities not to capture the rain pummelling the atmosphere, through taking photographs. While I'm invariably pleased with the photographs for their colour and sharpness, they still cannot accurately capture what the human eye beholds and the photographs, still attractive, hardly represent the reality that the eye discerns in breadth, depth, and detail.

Nor do the photographs display the reality of the rain pouring down even while the skies had opened up to the point where the sun shone down fully upon the landscape throughout most of the rain event; a contrast of sun and rain, each belying the presence of the other, as incompatible with reason, but present nonetheless.